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CHIDHAM

The parish, which contains 1,518 acres of land, 900
acres of foreshore, and 209 acres of tidal water, forms
a peninsula between two branches of Chichester Harbour, its southern-most point being at Cobnor. A prolongation northwards reaches as far inland as Hambrook. From this point a road runs southwards, crossing
the railway and the Portsmouth Road, to the church,
village, and Middleton Farm in the centre of the parish.
It is good agricultural land, largely used for market
gardening. The chief claim of the parish to fame lies
in its having been the source of 'Chidham wheat', a
prolific variety discovered c. 1790 by Edmund Woods,
who then owned the Manor Farm. (fn. 1)

A terrier of 1635 (fn. 2) shows that Chidham was divided
into the tithings of Weston, Middleton, and Easton.
It also gives a long list of 'museplots' (fn. 3) which paid tithes,
containing from 2 acres downwards, including many
reckoned in 'stitches'. (fn. 4) Some 516 acres were inclosed
in 1812, under an Act of 1809, and a further inclosure
in the north of the parish was made in 1821. (fn. 5)

The village is small and contains few buildings of
interest. The Manor House north of the church is a
large Jacobean building disguised by modern roughcast and slate-covered roofs. It contains an 18th-century staircase and some good panelling. Middleton
House, ¼ mile north-east of the church, is a good
example of a house of c. 1730. The walls are of purple
brick with red brick dressings and moulded eavescornice. It has a middle entrance with a pediment, and
segmental-headed sash windows.

'Chidmere House', ¼ mile south-east of the church,
is of early Tudor origin, largely renovated in 1930. It
is of L-shaped plan, the ranges extending east and south,
with walls of a mellow red brick. Oak panelling, some
of which is said to have borne the date 1521, was removed from two upstair rooms in 1912, but some oak
and pine panelling remains, and the partition walls are
of early wattle and daub. The property belonged to the
family of Eedes from 1688 to 1788. (fn. 6)

MANORS

CHIDHAM is not mentioned in
Domesday, being then included in the
Bishop of Exeter's estate of the Chapelry
of Bosham, of which it became the manorial centre. In
1243 the confirmatory grant of the chapelry to the
bishop included the manor of Chidham. (fn. 7) It was stated
in 1290 that the Bishop of Exeter held the chapel of
Bosham and the manor of Chidham, in which were free
and villein tenants who did suit to the Earl of Norfolk's
hundred of Bosham; but in the hamlet of Westinton,
a member of Chidham, he had certain small tenants,
each holding 3 acres, who were his servants, such as
reapers, shepherds, swineherds, and ploughmen, and
they came at Easter and Michaelmas to view of frankpledge before the bishop's bailiff at Chidham with the
ripereeve (messore) as their tithingman and appeared
before the coroner in the tithing of Westinton and not
elsewhere. (fn. 8)

After the dissolution of the College of Bosham the
Bishop of Exeter in 1548 conveyed the manor of Chidham to Thomas Fisher, to whom it was confirmed next
year. (fn. 9) He then transferred it to
Henry Bickley, (fn. 10) who died holding
it of the Crown in 1570. (fn. 11) His
son Thomas died seised thereof in
1588, leaving a son Thomas,
then only 3 years old, (fn. 12) who
died in 1640. (fn. 13) His heir was said
to be Thomas Pay, great-grandson of Henry Bickley's daughter
Honor, but Thomas Bickley bequeathed this manor to Brewen,
or Brune, Bickley (grandson of
Henry) and Cicely (Ryman) his
wife and Richard his son. (fn. 14)
Richard apparently died before his father, whose estates
passed to a younger son Henry, (fn. 15) who died in 1707,
leaving the manor of Chidham to trustees for sale. (fn. 16)
It was apparently bought by Richard Lumley, Earl of
Scarborough, and descended with Westbourne (q.v.)
until the death of Richard Barwell in 1805, after which
it seems to have been sold to Edmund Woods by his
trustees. (fn. 17) William Padwick owned it in 1822, (fn. 18)
Charles Cheesman is said to have purchased it some time
before 1835, (fn. 19) after which date its history is obscure.
Sophie, Lady Gifford (widow of the 3rd Baron, who
died in 1911) is named as lady of the manor between
1915 and 1922, (fn. 20) but it was said to be in the hands of
Albert Eadie in 1919. (fn. 21) Subsequently it was acquired
by Lord Iveagh, the present owner.

Bickley. Argent a cheveron embattled between three griffons' heads sable.

A subinfeudation appears in 1621 when Sir Richard
Worseley, bart., died seised of the manors of CHIDHAM HACKET and MIDDLETON, held of
Thomas Bickley, which he had granted in 1616 to
Lady Elizabeth widow of Sir Richard White and
Elizabeth White her daughter for their lives. (fn. 22) The
property evidently descended in the family as in 1720
Sir Robert Worseley, bart., and Frances his wife conveyed the manor of Chidham Hacket alias Middleton
to John Wakeford. (fn. 23) In 1793 the manor was conveyed
by Samuel Colby and Mary his wife and John McFarland and Elizabeth his wife to Joseph Postlethwaite, (fn. 24)
but no other mention of it is known.

CHURCH

The church (invocation unknown) (fn. 25)
stands south of the Manor House. It consists of chancel, nave with stone bell-cote,
short north aisle, and south porch; it is built of flint
rubble, mostly plastered, with ashlar dressings, and is
roofed with tile. The chancel and nave are of the 13th
century, the aisle was added in the 14th, the porch,
and the roofs throughout, are modern.

In the east wall of the chancel is a lancet triplet,
entirely modern; (fn. 26) in each side wall are two plain
lancets with pointed rear-arches; the outer stonework
of the eastern window on the north side is modern, the
rest are of the 13th century. A piscina in the south
wall has a 13th-century square-framed trefoil head and
a modern basin; east of this is a small low recess, its
sill almost at ground level, with plain segmental arched
head, date and use unknown. In the flooring next to
this is a taper-sided 13th-century tombstone of Purbeck
marble, its upper surface much worn. The medieval
stone altar slab is set in the floor under the communion
table. The chancel arch is of two chamfered orders,
the inner resting on corbels, the outer on square responds; this appears to have been heightened and
widened in the 19th century, the old stones being, as
far as possible, reused.

On the south side of the nave is a small shallow
recess with square head; its position is that of a piscina,
but no trace of a drain remains. In this wall are three
lancet windows, the second is of the 13th century, the
first and third each replace a two-light window with
square head, shown in a drawing of 1805 in the Sharpe
collection; the jambs of the splays of the old windows
seem to have been reused. Between the second and
third windows is a plain doorway with pointed arch,
the outer stonework modern, the inner perhaps 13th-century. In the north wall of the nave, high up, is
a square opening formerly giving access to the roodloft. West of this is a short arcade of two bays, of the
14th century, the single pier is octagonal, with moulded
capital and base; the two responds each have the form
of a half-pier; the pointed arches are of two chamfered
orders. West of this is the north doorway, a plain
pointed arch of the 13th century; beyond this is a
single 13th-century lancet like those in the south wall.
The west wall is thicker than the others, and has two
shallow buttresses, perhaps designed to support a stone
bell-cote; but the present bell-cote is entirely modern,
and replaces a square timber one with pyramidal roof,
shown in the drawing of 1805.

Between the buttresses is a doorway with pointed
arch, now blocked, perhaps 13th-century; on the inner
side of the blocking are inserted some scraps of 15th-century panelled stonework, perhaps the remains of a
tomb. Over the doorway is a single wide lancet of the
13th century. A small screened vestry occupies the
west end of the nave.

At the east end of the north aisle is a two-light
window with trefoil heads and no tracery, the southern-most light being both higher and wider than the other;
the exterior stonework of this is modern, but appears
to be a reproduction of the window shown in a drawing
of 1795; the outer stonework of the west window is
also modern; it is of the same design as the eastern,
save that the two lights are of equal breadth. In the
east respond of the arcade is a small piscina with pointed
head and stone credence shelf, apparently entirely
modern.

The font has a cup-shaped basin passing into a base
whose plan is a square with the corners cut off; the
date is uncertain, perhaps 1660; it was found under the
nave floor during 19th-century alterations, and is set on
a modern square base. The other fittings are modern.

There are three bells, all modern and uninscribed,
possibly recast from the old ones which bore the respective dates 1581, 1586, and 1638. (fn. 27)

The communion plate includes a silver cup in the
form of a porringer with two scroll handles. This and
the cover to it, which forms a paten, bear the hallmarks for 1704. The flagon is of pewter. (fn. 28)

Chidham Parish Church

The registers begin in 1652.

ADVOWSON

Chidham was one of the prebends
of the College of Bosham and the
church was served by a vicar, who was
receiving £10 19s. in 1535. (fn. 29) After the suppression of
the college the advowson descended with the manor,
Thomas Bickley presenting in 1626 and 1639, Richard
Barwell in 1794, and his widow Catherine Mundy in
1823. (fn. 30) After her death it seems to have been sold to
John Henry Candy (fn. 31) of Littlehampton, who in 1858
conveyed the advowson to the Rev. R. Broome Pininger,
rector of Whichford (Warws.) to the use of Hester
Walker for life with remainder to her nephew the
Rev. George Alfred Walker. (fn. 32) Miss Walker died in
1863; (fn. 33) the Rev. G. A. Walker was vicar from 1858
until 1898, (fn. 34) shortly after which date the advowson
was acquired by the Bishop of Chichester, who is the
present patron.

In 1523 there was a guild of St. Cuthman in Chidham, (fn. 35) but although it was then in a flourishing condition, having stock worth £5, there is no other definite
reference to it; but in 1550 (?) the sum of 10s. was
seized for the king from some 'superstitious' body in
Chidham, (fn. 36) which may have been this guild. 'St. Culmans feild neere St. Cullmans Dell', mentioned in 1635
as bounded on the north by the sea, (fn. 37) had probably
belonged to the brotherhood.

CHARITY

Honour Wayte.

By an inscription on
the walls of the parish church it appears
that Honour Wayte gave to the poor of
this parish 20s. yearly for ever. The money is paid out
of land in the parish of Hambledon and is distributed
by the vicar.

25. The usually received modern invocation of St. Mary seems to be derived from
a misunderstanding of the will quoted in
Suss. Rec. Soc. xlii, 7; on the face of it the
altar of St. Mary there referred to is not
the high altar.

26. A drawing of 1795 shows a traceried
east window of about four lights.